Intel patents multi-surface NFC antenna design

CASCADE: Patent shows how two independent antennas are joined by a connecting wire

The USPTO has published a patent application by three Intel engineers that describes an NFC antenna design which makes use of a cascaded coil concept to enable interactions to be performed without a user needing to precisely orientate their phone.

“The first and second coil antennas are independent antennas prior to cascading and are located in different surfaces of the device to establish near field coupling through front side, top side, bottom side, or corner side of the portable device.

“The two coil antennas of the cascaded coil antenna are separate and independent from one another if not for the connecting wire that completes the cascading. In other words, they can be placed separately at any surface of the portable device.”